Shock-absorber.



F. A4. LYNCHn SHOCK ABSORBER.

APPLICATION PILBD'NOV. 9, 1910.

Y 871,731. Patented Mar.28,1911.

FRANK A. LYNCH, or Rennens, vrnGiNrA.'

SHOCK-ABSOR-BER.

aemai.

Specification 0f Lettersatent Patented Mar. 2S., 1.911.

Application filed November 9, 1910. Serial No. 591,498.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK A. LYNCH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Roanoke, -in the county of Roanoke and State of Virginia,have invented a new and useful Shock-Absorber, of which the followingis-a specification.

This invcntionrelates to shock absorbers for use in connectionwithelliptical or semiellipt-ical springs for vehicles, one of theobjects of the invention being to provide a simple form of device ofthis character which can. be readily applied to ordinary forms ofsprings of the type mentioned and which device acts directly upon thesprings so as to retard their movement back to their 'normal positionsafter having been subjected to excessive stress such as produced, foreX- ample, while the vehicle carrying them is jolted over roughsurfaces, obstructions and the like.

A further object is to provide a shock absorber of this character which,while aeting directly upon the springs, will not injure them.

A further object is to provide a device of this character which iscompact in construction and can be used upon the springs withoutnecessitating any change in the structure of the vehicle.

Tit-h the foregoing and other objects in riew which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of' invention herein disclosed can be made within the fromthe spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the prefl ferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings,-Figure 1 is a side elevation of one end portion of anelliptical spring and showin the shock absorber in position thereon. ig.2 is an enlarged section on line 2-2 Fig. 1. Fig. 3ds an enlargedsection on line 3v3 Fig. 1. Fig. at is a detail view of a Guide usedin'connection with the shock absoiier. F ig. 5 is an eleva tion of ablock for use in connection with a Semi-elliptical spring where theshock absorber is employed.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 2 and 3 designatethe upper and lower laminated members of an elliptical vehicle spring,said members being connected at their ends by vcoupling bolts .ln thedrawings only one end portion ofthe spring has been illustrated. Bolts.4 extend through and constitute the pivot of a yoke 5' foi-ined at oneend o f a stem G, said stem carrying collars 7 and S which areadjustably mounted thereon, there being any suitable means, such as setscrews 23 and 24, for holding these collars against movement relative tothe stem. Said stem is slidably` mounted within a guide plate 9 providedwith trunniens 10 which are journaled within the side plates of the bodyportion of the shock absorber. These side plates which have beenindicated at 12 and 13, are provided with openings 11 for the receptionof the trunnions and the ends of theside plates are connected `by meansof heads 22 integral with the plates or secured to them in any mannerpreferred. Longitudinal slots 14.- and 15 are formed in the upper andlower end portions,

respectively, of the plates 12 and 13, these slot-s receiving trunnions18 extending from bearing rollers 17. hese rollers are mounted withinslidable blocks 19, the trunnions 18 bearing within the blocks. `ustingscrews'20 are swiveled within the blocks and tudinally between the sideplates of the body of the shock absorber so as to bring the rollers 17nearer together or farther apart as desired.l It is to be understood ofcourse that the upper and lower portions 2 and 3, respectively, of thespring project between ,the/plates 12 'andl and also between the rollers17, one of these rollers bearing downwardly upon the upper portion 2 ofthe spring, while the other roller bears upwardly upon the lower portion3.

The guide plate 9 project-s between the two portions of the spring and aspring 16, which is mounted on stem 6, vbears at its ends against collar7 and the plate9 so as to force said plate'and the body portion of theabsorber, constantly in the direction of the centers of the springmembers 2 and 3. As the spring 16 forces the rollers 17 against themembers of the vehicle spring, it will be apparent that these rollerswill be promptly shifted toward the center of the spring as soon as thetwo members'2 andy?, are moved together' from any cause, as by thesudden application of, weight to the vehicle or the jolting ofthevehicle. The quick return of the members of the spring to their initialpositions will thus be prevented and, instead, said springmembers canonly return .by first forcing the rollers 17 toward the pivot bolt 4. Inother Words the spring members 2 and 3, as they return to their initialpositions, act as a Wedge or spreading means and cause the absorber tomove toward the vbolt 4 and against the stress of the spring 16.Obviously the time required for this return movement of the parts willbe dependent upon the strength ofthe spring 16 and the spring members 2and 3. In any event, however, the reaction of the spring. members 2 and3 Will-be considerably retarded and shocks such as produced When avehicle is traveling over a rough surface, Will be practicallycompletely absorbed. v

Although vonly one absorber has been shown upon the vehicle spring, itis to be understood that, if desired, one of these absorbers can belocated at each end of the spring.

Should a semi-elliptical spring be elnployed in connection With theabsorber, it is desirable to use an attachin block such as illustratedin Fig. 5, this b ook, which has been designated at 26, being providedwith an extension having an inclined face Which cooperates with theinclined portion of the 'spring attached to the block, for properly7guiding the absorber during the movement of the spring out of normalposition.

In Fig. 4 the plate 9 has been shown pro'- vided with a series ofapertures, these apertures being employed Where more than one stem 6 isutilized.

What is claimed is 1. A shock absorber including a guide elep ment,means at one end thereof for engaging a vehicle spring, an absorber bodyslidablev gaglng a spring embraced by the body, andmeans upon the stemfor holdin the body normally pressed yieldingly om said spring engagingmeans upon the stem.

4. The combinationwitha spring, of a stein, means for ivotallyconnecting the stem with the sprlng, a structure slidably mounted on thestem, rollers journaled within said structure and bearing upon oppositeportions of the spring, and a spring upon the stem and engaging saidstructure for holding the rollers normally in engagement with thespring.

5. The combination With a spring, of a shock absorber including a guidestem pivotally connected to the spring, a guide element slidablymounted'on the stem, a frame inuWhich said element is journaled, opposedanti-friction devices Within said structure, means for adjusting saiddevices toward or away from each other, and a spring upon the stemengaging said element for holding the alltifriction devices normallypressed into engagement with the spring.

6. The combination with a spring, of av shock absorber including astructure embracing and movably mounted on the spring, means forautomatically shifting said structure bodily relative to and in thedirection .of the length ofthe spring when said spring is placed understress and for retarding the return movement of the structure during therebound of the spring.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I haveheretoaiiixedmy slgnature in the presence of two Witnesses.

FRANK A. LYNCH.

Witnesses:

J. B. HENRITTER, J. E. RUGGLES.

Oopies of this patent may be obtained for tive cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

